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NOTES

Scene i • An open place.

[Thunder and lightning. Enter Three Witches.]

First Witch. When shall we three meet again?

In thunder, lightning, or in rain?

Second Witch. When the hurlyburly’s done,

When the battle’s lost and won.

Third Witch. That will be ere the set of sun.

First Witch. Where the place?

Second Witch. Upon the heath.

Third Witch. There to meet with Macbeth.

First Witch. I come, Graymalkin.^1

Second Witch. Paddock^2 calls.

Third Witch. Anon!^3

All. Fair is foul, and foul is fair.

Hover through the fog and filthy air. (Exit.)

⌘ ⌘ ⌘

Scene ii • A camp near Forres, a town in

northeast Scotland.

[Alarum within.^1 Enter King Duncan, Malcolm, Donalbain,

Lennox, with Attendants, meeting a bleeding Captain.]

King. What bloody man is that? He can report,

As seemeth by his plight, of the revolt

The newest state.

Malcolm. This is the sergeant^2

Who like a good and hardy soldier fought

’Gainst my captivity. Hail, brave friend!

Say to the king the knowledge of the broil^3

As thou didst leave it.

Captain. Doubtful it stood.

As two spent swimmers, that do cling together

And choke their art.^4 The merciless Macdonwald—

Worthy to be a rebel for to that

The multiplying villainies of nature

Do swarm upon him—from the Western Isles^5

Of kerns and gallowglasses^6 is supplied;

And fortune, on his damnèd quarrel^7 smiling,

5

1. Graymalkin first witch’s helper,
   a gray cat.


2. Paddock second witch’s helper,
   a toad.
   10 3. Anon at once.


3. Alarum within trumpet call
   offstage.

revolt (rih VOHLT) n. attempt to

overthrow a lawful ruler

2. sergeant officer.

5 captivity (kap TIHV uh tee) n. state

of being held against one’s will

3. broil battle.


4. choke their art prevent each
   other from swimming.


5. Western Isles the Hebrides, off
   Scotland.


6. Of kerns and gallowglasses
   with lightly armed Irish foot
   soldiers and heavily armed
   soldiers.


7. damnèd quarrel accursed
   cause.

10

The Tragedy of Macbeth, Act I 261

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Explore Literary Devices

Students may have marked Scene i, lines 1−11

during their first read. Use these lines to help

students understand how superstition plays

an important role in The Tragedy of Macbeth.

Encourage them to talk about the annotations

that they marked. You may want to model

a close read with the class based on the

highlights shown in the text.

ANNOTATE: Have students mark details

in these lines that show foreshadowing of

events to come, or have students participate

while you highlight them.

QUESTION: Guide students to consider

what these details might tell them. Ask what

a reader can infer from what the witches are

predicting, and accept student responses.

Possible response: Something that seems fair,

or honest is actually foul, or evil.

CONCLUDE: Help students to formulate

conclusions about the importance of these

details in the text. Ask students why the

author might have included these details.

Possible response: Fair is foul and foul is fair

relates to the theme that things are not what

they seem. Here, Shakespeare’s technique of

foreshadowing warns the reader that evil things

are to come.

Remind students that foreshadowing is

the use of clues hinting at events that are

going to occur later in the plot of a drama.

This technique helps create suspense, the

quality in a literary work that keeps the reader

wondering about what will happen next.

Foreshadowing should pique the reader’s

curiosity without actually giving the plot away.

In The Tragedy of Macbeth, foreshadowing

creates a feeling of foreboding.

CLOSER LOOK

DIGITAL PERSPECTIVES

Illuminating the Text Review Scene i, lines 1–11.

Scholars believe that one reason Shakespeare

included witches in The Tragedy of Macbeth is

the fact that King James I had openly expressed

his belief in witches. Witchcraft was a topic

of controversy in seventeenth-century Europe

and America. Some regarded the existence of

witches to be nothing more than a harmless

superstition. Others felt that witches were real

and a source of evil. The belief in the witches

affects the actions of the characters, particularly

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, as they seek to

fulfill the evil predictions of the witches. Find a

copy of the painting The Three Witches by Henry

Fuseli and project it for the class. Ask students

if the rendering of the witches affects their own

perception of the characters of the witches in

The Tragedy of Macbeth.

Whole-Class Learning 261

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